18 NEW LAND. 



There are two indispensable adjuncts to the carrying out of 

 polar research, and these are ' ski ' and dogs. To obtain with 

 these the best results, it is necessary to take lessons from the 

 two races of Nature's children who have learned their use by the 

 experience of centuries, namely, the Lapp and the Eskimo. For 

 my own part, I am inclined to believe that an adaptation of the 

 Lapp ' ski ' is the most practical type for polar ' ski,' and the 

 Eskimo dog an ideal companion on a polar expedition. I have 

 had opportunities of seeing the action of dogs of various breeds 

 upon the polar ice, but none of them comes up to the Eskimo 

 dog. It has the persistence and tenacity of the wild animal, and 

 at the same time the domestic dog's admirable devotion to its 

 master. It is, so to speak, the wildest breath of Nature, and the 

 warmest breath of civilization. As a draught animal, it surpasses all 

 other breeds. I will not even mention the Norwegian, or, rather, 

 Swedish elk-dogs,* they proved utterly useless as sledge-dogs; 

 but even the Siberian dogs, which I had an opportunity of trying 

 on the first ' Fram ' expedition, are not up to the standard of the 

 Eskimo dog. I will not venture to say wherein the difference 

 lies, but I fancy that the question of food has a good deal to say in 

 the matter. The West Siberian dogs are fed exclusively, or nearly 

 so, on fish ; while the Eskimo dog's principal food is oleiferous 

 meat. To illustrate the significance of diet, I may also state that 

 bitches that are fed on fish bear, as a rule, a majority of female 

 puppies, just as it has been observed that tribes which live upon fish 

 can boast of great numbers of girls among their children. 



If it may be said that polar research without ' ski ' is extremely 

 difficult, it may safely be said that without dogs it is impossible ; 

 and, so far, they are right who say that the question of reaching the 

 pole is simply and solely one of dogs. But the matter is not quite 

 so simple. The number of dogs, for instance, cannot merely be 

 doubled or trebled, and a relatively better result be immediately 

 obtained thereby. My experience is that one man cannot manage 

 more than eight dogs. Thus, the number of men must be increased 

 in proportion to the number of dogs, or, in other words, many 

 dogs, a large expedition ; and a large expedition means a large 



* Must not be confounded with the true Lapp dog. 



